Renegade
by XxEyesOnlyxX
Summary: The story is about the adventures of a returning student Arden, who was exiled from the DWMA for 3 years, but is then summoned to return by Lord Death. Follow her story, as she re-unites with old friends, makes new ones, and follow along as together they face off against deadly enemies full summary inside Future Lemon. SoulxMaka, SteinXMarie, KidXLiz, BlackstarXPatti OCXOC OCXStein
1. Full Summary

Our story follows the adventures of Arden and her weapon partner Death-Strike. Three years previous, Arden was exiled from the academy for killing one of her professors; Alexander Ashcroft, who had been using his students in deadly and dangerous experiments that he hoped would create the ultimate weapon or kishin. Three years later, Arden returns to the DWMA after a summons from Lord Death, and hopes to make amends with the Reaper. But shortly after arriving at the DWMA, Arden is kidnapped and it's up to her friends among the DWMA to rescue her and defeat their newest and greatest threat, while facing off against old enemies and new ones.

Featuring visits from everyone's favorite Holy Sword; Excalibur! A visit from the Kishin Asura?! And many old favorites.

Pairings: SteinxMarie, MakaxSoul, KidxLiz, Black*StarxPatti, OcXOc, OcXStein, MafunexTsubaki, CronaxOc


	2. Homecoming

Arden Nightengale stood on the barren hill that overlooked the road leading to Death City. The girl looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, with long fine brown and copper toned hair that was randomly braided in a wild array, ranging from tiny thin braids to braids that were half-an-inch think, and all decorated with various trinkets; a few feathers fluttered at the bottoms of two of the larger braids, and the rest were adorned with beads, and some were even wrapped in copper wire. Scars that had long since healed over showed faintly on her sun-tanned skin and a pair of thin silver spiral earrings dangled down below her earlobe, wobbling with every movement of her head. She had small, pretty, delicate looking lips that were light pink in color and soft to the eye and touch. Her lashes were long and pretty and she seemed to radiate a wild sort of life energy that made her skin seem to glow. Her clothes were travel worn; a pair of thick black boots with heavy rubber soles, and came up to her knees. She wore a thin and rumpled black skirt that came down to her thigh on the right side, while on the left it sort of trailed off, reaching down to her ankle, it's hem curling around her boot like a snake. Over this she wore a light black leather jacket, with sleeves that came down to her elbows, underneath which she wore a bright red tube top that came down just above her midriff, showing off the glittering sunstone belly button ring in her navel. She tossed her back lazily, and stretched the kinks out of her muscles before turning to her weapon partner; Death-Strike.

Death-Strike was almost a foot taller than his Meister, and looked about three years older. Like his partner, he looked feral and untamed; his hair was long and fine, black with a single thin braid at the base of his neck that had red and black feathers woven into it. Piercings lined his ears, and a single ring jutted out of his lower lip. And like his Meister he wore heavy black boots, which came up to his knees, while covering the hems of his torn and faded jeans. A faded black t-shirt was stuck in the waistband of his jeans, which he now pulled out and on over his head. Wiping away a streak of sweat and dirt from his face, Death-Strike turned to face his partner, his dark scarlet eyes filed with concern.

"Are you sure about this Arden?" he asked, his voice rough from the dust that had collected in his throat as they had walked. "I know he summoned us but, we left the Academy for a reason and, on very bad terms I might add. For all you know, this is a trap, and Lord Death is just using this as an excuse to get you inside that damned place."

His Meister smiled slowly, and turned to him, her sapphire blue eyes locking with his. "It's been almost 3 years Strike, if Lord Death wanted me dead, he'd have killed me by now. He'd have sent one of the Death Scythes, or even Dr. Stein after us if that was really the case." She raised a small, well calloused hand and gently ran it down the side of his cheek, and pulled herself up on tip-toe to kiss him softly. "You worry too much," she whispered. "We'll be fine."

Strike did not look convinced as he pressed his forehead to hers and glanced over at the towering structure of the academy in the distance. "I hope so." He murmured, almost fearfully.

Taking his hand in hers, the Meister slowly led her partner behind her as they continued their trek towards Death City.

It was almost sun set by the time the two weary travelers reached the steps that led up to and throughout the city. Arden grimaced.

"I'd forgotten there were so many damned stairs in this city." She grumbled as she dropped her pack on the bottom most stair and sat down on the one above it. "I could sleep right here, I'm too tired to walk up all these things."

Strike laughed. "A city full of potentially dangerous people who may or may not be too thrilled to see us, and she shrugs it off, but a shit ton of stairs? Suddenly, she's not so tough."

Arden glared at him and pointed to the heavy leather boots she was wearing. "Excuse me, but these things are hot, and my feet are all sweaty and gross and they hurt from walking all the way to this god-forsaken city. It's not that I'm not tough enough to tackle these stairs!"

She stood suddenly, grabbing her pack and shouldering it in one move.

"I can deal with stairs all night! IN FACT, FUCK THE STAIRS!" She whirled around, and with renewed speed and strength she marched up and through the city, Strike trotting after her, laughing softly to himself.

When they finally reached the set of stairs that led up to the Academy the two sat down, panting softly and leaned back against the cool stone steps. Arden closed her eyes for a moment then tilted her head back, to gaze up at the familiar towers silhouetted behind her against the laughing moon. It had been almost three years since she and her partner had been forced to leave the Academy, but still, it felt like coming home. She let out a soft breath and lifted her head back up to gaze down at the city below them. She smiled and admired the beauty of the city at night: the odd twisted shadows that were weaved in and around the strangely positioned and oddly built buildings that made up the city; the friendly light that was cast from windows and street lamps, illuminating the cobbled streets and giving the city an odd glow here and there. Somewhere in the night, she heard the faintest hint of music; a piano, pounding out the strangest, and most interesting dark tune she'd ever heard. Then suddenly the night air was filled with a sharp high pitched scream that was cut off almost instantaneously, but lingered in the air. Arden was on her feet in a moment, Strike at her side, and together they raced in the direction of the scream, leaving their things behind them scattered on the steps.

The two pounded through the streets, their footsteps echoing louder and louder as they reached the less inhabited and more deserted part of town. They scanned each alley way, pausing for longer and longer intervals, as the lighting that had been more pronounced in the main center of the city became scattered, with fewer and fewer lit lamps to illuminate the now pitch black streets. Eventually, they found themselves completely in the dark, and had to stop again, and wait for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. It was then that they became intensely aware of how silent this part of the city was. Nothing moved, nothing so much as shifted as their eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and they were able to finally get a good look at their surroundings.

"This must be the abandoned part of Death City," murmured Arden as she glanced around at the decrepit and ruined remains of several homes and buildings. "I'd heard that part of Death City had been relocated after the fighting six months ago, but I had no idea the damage had been this bad."

Her partner grimaced and nodded, then suddenly turned around, his eyes scanning the darkness. Arden walked calmly up behind him, and placed her hand calmly on his waist, as they listened for the sound that had startled Strike. A soft, wet, scrapping noise met their ears as something was dragged along the cobbled street behind them. Then there was a soft thud, a grunt and a sound like meat being torn from a roast. Arden shivered lightly and nodded at Strike, signaling him to change into his weapon form. In the blink of an eye, and a flash of neon green light, her weapon partner had taken on the form of an elaborate scythe; rings that normally pierced his ears now clinked gently against the lower blade of the scythe, and the feathers from his braid now dangled decoratively from the hilt of his scythe form. Spinning the scythe expertly around in her hands, Arden took a fighting a stance and pointed the blade in the direction of the noise.

"I know you're there, I can hear you. Come out! Or you'll answer to the wrath of Arden Nightengale, the legendary rouge Meister!" She shouted.

She was met with absolute silence. Then suddenly something flew into her slamming into her with the force of small explosion that sent her flying backwards into a solid brick wall that crumpled on impact. As she lay in the pile of rubble, she heard what sounded like gun shots in the distance, and footsteps getting louder and louder as they ran towards her direction. Pulling herself up, Arden stumbled to her feet, shaking her head to clear it.

_"Are you alright? That was a serious blow." _Death-Strike's tone was nervous and made her glance down at the weapon that she still gripped tightly in her hands.

"I'm fine Strike. Did you see what hit me?"

_"No, it was too fast, but judging from that wreckage to your left, I'd say it was once a dumpster."_

Arden glanced over her left shoulder and saw the twisted remains of metal that could have been a dumpster at some point or another. She grimaced, and turned back to stare down the alley way that the thing had flown out of. Suddenly, from the blackness behind her a hand shot out and grabbed her by her hair. She was jerked backwards, and Death-Strike was sent flying from her grasp as she was dragged away, kicking and fighting through the dark streets. She only had a moment to glimpse her partner regain his human form and reach out for her before she was yanked off into the shadows. Screaming bloody murder, Arden fought her captor violently, screaming even more loudly when she felt chunks of hair being torn from her scalp. The Kishin that held her in its grasp dug its claws further into her, opening small gashes in her scalp as it raced towards the outskirts of town. Then suddenly there was a loud scream of furry from her captor and the sound of flesh being torn in two, as Arden was sent flying onto the cobbled street below her. Her head connected hard with the street and she faded from consciousness.

The next thing Arden heard was her partner's angry voice several feet above her. "-could have killed her or worse, split her head open!"

"Calm down," a second male voice, soft and silky flowed through the night air and gave her goose bumps. "She's quite alright. See? She's coming around now."

A hand brushed the side of her face, and slid down the length of her cheek.

"Don't touch her!" growled Strike, as Arden's eyes slowly opened and met the gaze of a pair of soft grey eyes.

"Arden Nightengale," the older man with the soft grey eyes murmured. "I thought I recognized that lovely skin. I've always wanted to cut it open, peel it back layer by layer. I bet you'd make such an interesting specimen to experiment with."

Arden choked out a laugh, which came out more as a dry heavy cough. "Dr. Stein, still as creeptacular as always I see. You always knew the way to a girl's heart was through dissection."

"That's one way yes." The creepy Dr. smiled and placed one hand behind her back and the other he used to grip Arden's arm so he could help her up into a sitting position. "Through the ribcage and between the lungs, but the ribcage is always the hardest part. You have to cut through each rib."

Arden felt Death-Strike's intense gaze on her and the Doctor as she rubbed her forehead lightly. "Doc, you really need a hobby." She groaned as her head erupted with pain now that she was fully aware. "And I feel like I got punched in the skull by a very angry train."

"Or a deranged Doctor," spat Strike as he knelt down beside her pressing his cool hands to her face. "You got thrown on the ground and you hit your head, curtsey of Doctor Stein and his partner, Marie."

"Marie's gone to get some help now, we can't move you completely yet. You're bleeding from several head wounds and I'm worried about you trying to stand up." Doctor Stein said, as he slowly got to his feet. Pulling a cigarette out of his lab coat pocket he lit it and leaned against a doorway, his eyes hidden by the glinting reflection of his glasses. "I'm guessing you two ran into the Kishin we were hunting."

Arden nodded and explained what had happened up to the point where the monster had snagged her. "And apparently it wasn't satisfied with simply hitting me with a dumpster and decided I would be desert. So it grabbed me and the next thing I knew, I was being dragged along like a ragdoll."

"Well I'm sorry to say it got you all the way out here, very close to the edge of town. If I hadn't been looking for the thing already you might have been shredded up and your soul eaten by the Kishin."

"And if you hadn't come along her skull might not have been smashed like a piñata!" snapped Strike.

"It's not smashed," replied the Doctor, unfazed by Strike's outburst. "It's still intact. Like I told you before, I didn't see her from where I was standing. I was more concerned about ending the miserable thing before it could cause any more damage."

Strike didn't say anything but growled softy under his breath before stripping off his shirt and using it to gently wipe away at some of the blood that was drying and sticking to Arden's face. She sat quietly and very still, letting her partner concentrate on her rather than the Doctor who was still watching her interestedly. Only when he'd started trying to pick gravel and small stones out of the gashes in her head did she make him stop and turning quickly to the other side, she wretched and heaved heavily. The pain was starting to get to her and it was making the nausea worse and worse. Thankfully it seemed that luck was on her side as a few minutes later the three of them looked up towards the sound of pounding footsteps. Shakily, Strike helped Arden to her feet. Unfortunately, that seemed to make things worse for her head, as the world started spinning violently. Seconds later she passed out against Strike and felt darkness slowly envelop her.


	3. Abandon Ship or Abandon All Hope

_When Arden awoke, she was alone in a dimly lit room wearing only a hospital gown and bandages around her head and hands. She tried to call out for someone, anyone, but her voice was lost in her throat and she coughed violently into her hands. Something wet and thick spilled out of her lips and she gazed in horror and the thick coating of blood that covered the bandages on her hands. She let out a horrified scream and choked as more blood began filling her throat, her lungs…_

"Arden!"

A hand shook her shoulder violently, dragging her from the realm of dreams back into the harsh brightly lit realm of reality. For a moment, she was blinded by the bright lights above her, and clapped her hands over her eyes with a yelp. After a moment she was able to remove her hands and blinking rapidly, looked around at her surroundings. She was in a brightly lit room, decorated with various sharp objects and what looked like tools used for dissection. Suddenly it hit her that she was on a cold metal operating station and she sat up with a yelp, causing the thin white sheet covering her body to slide away, revealing naked skin. Arden shrieked and scrambled to snatch the cloth back as it slid towards the floor and off of the operating table. A firm hand steadied her shoulder, as Dr. Stein came into view, reaching past her to grab the cloth, and hand it back to her as he stood up.

"Calm down, it's alright Arden." Murmured the doctor as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "We didn't think you'd make it if we tried to get you to the Academy, so we brought you to my place. I was just about to move you to my bedroom so you could get some rest when you started screaming." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Bad dream?"

"Same one I have whenever I'm near the academy." Arden shivered. "I take it I'm going to be alright?"

"As alright as you can be with that," he hesitated and Arden's eyes narrowed. "Pre-existing condition of yours, which I'm assuming is the real reason you came back here, despite what Lord Death wishes to believe."

"Hey, he's the one who told us to go!" Arden snapped, her eyes blazing angrily.

The doctor said nothing, but watched her for a moment before he turned away. "There's a shower down the hall and to the left. You have to give it a few minutes to start working though, but by the time you're done cleaning yourself up, Death-Strike should be back with some clean clothes for you."

"Thanks doc," Arden said as she slid off the operating table and eased onto the floor. "I'm assuming you killed two birds with one stone and took a glance at that 'pre-existing' condition while you had me laid out here."

"I did, but we can talk about that tomorrow after you meet with Lord Death. Before you leave, I'll give you something that should help with the increasing pain you've been experiencing."

Arden's eyes flashed as she looked sharply at the doctor who still had his back to her.

"How did you know that was happening?"

"It's not important right now. Like I said, go and clean up and we can talk about it tomorrow after you speak to Lord Death."

Arden let out a sigh. "Since you keep saying it like that, I guess I can make Strike a little more at ease by telling him that it's definitely not a trap."

"Why? Did he think Lord Death would summon you all the way to Death City just to execute you?"

"More or less," admitted Arden as she paused just outside the doorway. "But you know, if he'd really wanted me dead, he could have had me killed already. Especially since, he apparently knew where I was anyway. Although, I suspect a little stitched up birdy might have told him that."

Stein flinched a little behind her, but she ignored it.

"Anyways, thanks again doc, for everything."

After she'd left the mad doctor continued to stare down at the various blood and tissue samples he'd taken from Arden while he'd tended to her wounds. Suddenly he turned and back handed a display of lethal looking instruments that went flying off the table and scattered across the floor, in a crescendo of odd pings and rings. Blood trickled faintly down from various cuts across the back of Stein's hand as he clenched his fist angrily and turned away from the samples.

"Damn it," he muttered as grabbed a spare bandage and wrapped it around his hand as he stormed out of the operating room.

In the brightly lit lighting, the various blood and tissue samples lay on the cold glass sample slides. Unlike normal human blood and tissue samples which retained a relatively healthy nature unless their host was ill, the blood and tissue cells were partially warped and had taken a blackish hue that appeared unnatural. These were the cells of a partially formed Kishin egg…


	4. Ain't No Stopping Her Now

True to the Doc's word, by the time Arden had finished thoroughly cleaning all the blood and gravel and everything else out of her hair and off her body, Strike had returned, carrying with him both their bags and for Arden; a pair of clean jeans, undergarments, and tee-shirt, which she quickly threw on. Feeling warmer and less gross, it didn't take long for the toll of the day's events to begin weighing on Arden as she and Strike relaxed comfortably on the Doc's couch and drank cups of calming herbal tea. Shortly after Strike's arrival, the three were joined by Stein's new partner, Miss Marie who introduced herself to Arden and Strike. Miss Marie captivated Arden, who was normally shy around others of her gender, and was taken in by the older woman's smile and all around friendly disposition. It wasn't long before the entire group was laughing and joking with one another, and swapping tales about their time both at and away from the Academy.

"So Death-Strike, Stein tells me that you've achieved the level of Death Scythe." Said Miss Marie as she was clearing away the used tea cups and placed them in the kitchen sink.

"Well, technically I could have, if we hadn't left the academy." Strike replied casually. "But it's all cool, if I became a Death Scythe, Lord Death would have probably re-assigned me somewhere. And I couldn't deal if I were taken away from Arden." He glanced at the now sleeping girl cuddled up against him, as he absent mindedly ran his fingers through her hair. "She's more important to me than some stupid title anyway."

"Awww, how sweet!" Gushed Miss Marie as she came to sit beside them again. "You two must really care about each other, huh?"

Strike chuckled. "We've been together since we were kids. I used to look out for her at the orphanage where we grew up, and when the Academy came to collect me because of who I was, I refused to go unless they agreed to bring Arden along. It took a while, but eventually Lord Death agreed, once he learned who Arden's parents were."

"Arden's mother was a Garrote Gauntlet, named Alliera Kissinger," Stein explained, standing up slowly and shuffling towards the desk across the room. "She graduated a year before us, as did Arden's Meister-Weapon father; Lysander Nightengale. Lysander's father was also a Garrote Gauntlet, and Lysander's mother was his father's Meister. So Lysander got both his father's weapon powers and his mother's Meister abilities." He returned from the desk with a class photo, and pointed to two students in the back. "Those are Arden's parents, there."

Strike continued where Stein had left off. "So basically you had Arden's dad, who was part Meister and part weapon, and Arden's mom who was supposed to be part of a set."

"But Alliera's twin sister was killed by a Kishin, and Alliera was left alone," Stein interrupted, pointing to an empty seat where a single rose sat, representing the fallen student. "Luckily, she met Lysander, and together they were able to wield the Garrote Gauntlet power just fine."

Strike nodded. "When Arden was born, her parent's unique lineage was passed to her."

"Meaning?" asked Miss Marie curiously.

"Meaning that not only is Arden a Meister, but if she needed to, she can harness the power of the Garrote Gauntlet." Explained Stein as he returned the photo to the desk and came back to join them.

"Amazing," gasped Miss Marie as she stared at Arden's sleeping form.

"Yeah," admitted Strike. "It's a really, really rare ability, seeing as she should only have the ability to wield one Garrote, but to wield them both?" He shook his head. "Unreal. That's why the academy wanted her. They wanted to see if she could actually become that powerful on her own. And trust me, she can. I've seen her master each technique on her own. Honestly, she doesn't even need me really."

"Yes she does, and you know it." Stein's normally relaxed tone was suddenly sharp and almost angry. "I wouldn't say something like that in front of her, unless you want to see what happens when that blood condition of hers is activated…"

Strike stared at the Doctor, horrified by what he was suggesting. Miss Marie looked confused.

"Blood condition?" she asked

"It's nothing." Said Strike, quickly. "I think Arden and I should get some rest, after all, she has a big day tomorrow, what with her big meeting with Lord Death and all."

"Of course," Stein's demeanor had returned to normal. "If you don't mind sharing, that couch Arden's sleeping on pulls out into a bed, unless of course, you'd like to sleep on my operating table."

"And risk getting turned into one of your weird experiments?! No thanks, we'll be fine here."

"Suit yourself," shrugged the Doctor before turning to Marie. "Shall we?"

Marie smiled at the man she had come to fall in love with, and nodded. "Yes."

Together the odd couple said their goodnights and left the room, leaving Arden and Strike alone at last. With a sigh, Strike maneuvered himself free of Arden's sleeping clutches and changed quickly into a clean shirt and a pair of sleeping shorts, before returning to the sleeping girl. Carefully he picked her up, and set her down in one of the chairs next to the couch. Make sure she was comfortable; he turned to the task of setting up the pull out couch. Several minutes, and a couple of curses later, he'd managed to get the pull out bed set up. Turning around he quietly made his way over to the still fast asleep Arden, and cradling her gently, he carried her back over to the makeshift bed. Once they were both settled in, Strike clicked off the lamp beside him, and lay awake, staring at the ceiling and pondering over the Doctor's angry warning until late into the night.

The next morning, Miss Marie woke them both gently, and made them breakfast as Strike dressed and Arden was quickly checked over by Doctor Stein. Satisfied that she was okay to make the visit to the academy, he left her to dress and went to join the others for breakfast. Strike was already at the table, his long hair was entirely braided, and he'd pulled on a neat looking black t-shirt, and clean cut blue jeans that fell over a pair of clean work boots. He nodded at Stein and handed him a cup of coffee as the older man sat beside him and nodded back. Marie rolled her eyes at the two and was pouring herself a cup of coffee when Arden walked in.

"I look like some kind of messed up flower."

The comment made all of them turn around to stare at the now blushing Arden. Her hair had been swept back by a pearl-bead headband, keeping the unruly locks out of her face. She wore a loose fitting black blouse, a frilly black miniskirt, and matching black knee-high boots. Strike stared at her, a faint heat rising up the back of his neck and creeping across his face. Swiftly he hid his gaze and face in his coffee mug as he muttered about how nice she looked. Marie was suddenly all a twitter and gushed about how nice and pretty she looked while Stein nodded approvingly. Still blushing, Arden made her way to the table and sat next to Strike who continued to keep his face hidden from her even after they'd finished their breakfast and were preparing to leave for their meeting with Lord Death.

"Now don't you two worry about finding a place to stay," Marie told them as she fussed with Arden's hair quickly before they departed. "Stein and I will let you stay here again tonight and we'll make arrangements for you while you're with Lord Death. Don't look so nervous Arden," she added as she hugged the younger girl quickly. "You look beautiful."

Arden blushed even more and muttered a quick thank you before Strike practically pulled her through the door and down the stairs towards the street. Marie smiled and turned back to her partner.

"It's so cute how much he cares about her. Did you see his face earlier? He couldn't stop blushing."

Stein simply shook his head. "You know I still don't understand love."

He stood up and made his way towards his partner. Taking her hand in his, he kissed it and smiled.

"But I am starting to."

"Strike, will you slow down?!" Arden gasped, as she was half dragged down the street by her partner. "We're not even going the right way! The academy is that way!"

"We're not going to the academy." Strike growled.

"Well then where are we going?" Arden demanded, grinding herself to a halt and yanking her arm away from him. "Strike, you're scaring me! First you won't even look at me during breakfast, now you're trying to drag me away from my meeting with Lord Death. What is up with you?"

Strike turned to face her, and instantly, she felt her knees get wobbly. A faint fire glowed in his eyes, the kind that tells a woman that her lover sees her, only her, and wants her, and only her. And in that moment, she could see in his eyes, the need to tell her, physically, that she was all that he ever wanted and all that could he ever desire. Suddenly, Arden laughed, making Strike gaze at her in disbelief.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"You!" she gasped as she clutched her side. "All morning I was worried that you thought I looked stupid in these frilly girly clothes! And now suddenly it's all you can do not to tear them off me in public."

She laughed again, and wiped a tear from her eye. Walking forward, she grabbed her partner by the front of the shirt and kissed him, hard, before pulling away and turning back in the direction of the academy.

"However, you'll have to wait a bit for that. I need to speak to Lord Death first." She looked back at the deflated and somewhat confused Strike. "I need to do this for me Strike. I need to talk him and find out what he wants from me. After that, we can leave. We can go, anywhere, somewhere quiet where no one can bother us and we can spend our time doing things that would make Stein blush, if that's what you want."

Strike sighed, and then chuckled softly. "Alright Arden, you win. Let's go meet Lord Death. But afterwards, so help me, I will drag you to the nearest hotel."

"Deal," Arden laughed and held out her hand to him. "Let's go, partner."

Strike smiled at her, and reaching forward, he took her hand in his. "Let's go!"

It took them less time than the two had expected to reach the academy, and upon their arrival, they were greeted by the oddest young man Arden and Strike had ever seen. He wore a full suit that was entirely black except for the evenly spaced white squares that decorated it; under which he wore a white collared button down shirt with a large silver skull, cravat looking decoration at his throat. His short black hair fell neatly around his face, and had the strangest white stripes Arden had ever seen. Unlike most teens and rebels she knew who had stripes going vertically, his were three perfectly horizontal lines, and she had to admire his dedication to standing out. As she and Strike approached the young man, he hailed them, descending the academy stairs to meet them half way.

"Hello Arden," the young man's voice was smooth and he articulated each word he spoke with care. "It's been a long time. Almost three years, as I recall."

"Hey babe," Strike's arm snaked possessively around his partner. "You know this kid?"

"Uhm," Arden cocked her head to the side and stared at the young man before her. "I don't – wait, Kid?!"

Her eyes went wide as it dawned on her that she did know the young man. He was Death the Kid, Lord Death's son.

"So you do remember," Kid's smile was cold and unfriendly. "I hope you know that my father's summoning you here doesn't mean that the academy will forgive you for running away. In my eyes, you're still a traitor."

Arden ducked her head down, hiding her face from view. "Yeah, that's fine." She muttered, making her way up the stairs and pushing past Kid. "Let's just get this over with, I wanna go home."

"Coward."

The word was a slap across Arden's face and she whirled to face Kid, her eyes blazing.

"Say that again." She growled. "Say it again so I have an excuse to beat the royal shit out of you, you spoiled-rotten symmetrically-obsessed, redefines-the-meaning-of-O.C.D., little cretin.

"All right, that's enough."

Doctor Stein had shown up at last, his trademark cigarette in his mouth and a pleasant yet creepy smile on his face.

"Professor Stein," Kid straightened the skull around his neck and smiled. "Come to escort the traitor to my father's Death Room? He asked me to accompany you, probably to make sure she doesn't escape again."

"Yeeeee-ah, something like that." Stein said, placing an arm on Arden's shoulder, and the other around Strike's. "Come along now you two, we shouldn't keep Lord Death waiting."

Once they were out of Kid's earshot Stein leaned down and murmured softly, "Don't let him get to you."

"I wasn't planning on it." Arden growled and pulled away from him, walking swiftly so as to put distance between herself and the three men behind her, as she muttered darkly about 'stupid boys'.


	5. Bed of Nails

Once they reached the Death Room, Kid left them, saying he was told to stand guard outside and keep anyone who tried to enter from interrupting the meeting. Apparently Lord Death had made it clear that this meeting was to be private, with no outside parties getting involved.

"Because that's reassuring." Strike growled, throwing an arm protectively around his Meister. "If this is a trap, I swear to all that is chaos, I will end someone." He glared at Kid. "Probably you."

Kid smirked and waved a snarky little goodbye to them, leaving them alone with Stein.

He looked down at Arden, a hint of concern in his voice as he asked, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She admitted with a small gulp.

Stein nodded and led her and Strike down the hall to the Death Room, Arden gripping Strike's hand firmly in her own. As they entered the room, Arden couldn't help but admire the strange beauty the room seemed to have, and at the center of the odd beauty, stood Lord Death himself.

"Hello Lord Death," the two Meisters and Strike said in unison, bowing their heads.

"Yah, yah, hello everyone, how are you doing? How have you been?"

Arden bit her lip to hide a smile. The strange reaper hadn't changed since she'd left. He still appeared a little goofy, with plenty of kindness and a strange kind of, warmth, thrown in. Remembering that this was an important meeting, Arden straightened herself back up and raised her eyes to meet Lord Death's gaze.

"Meister Arden," suddenly the goofy voice was soft and serious as the reaper looked at her. "Thank you for answering my summons. It's good to see you after so long."

"Yes Lord Death." Arden did a full bow this time, her arm sweeping elegantly in front of her and then to the side. "Forgive me for not answering sooner, I was... unfit to travel. My current condition is subject to," she paused, searching for the right words. "Unforeseen weaknesses."

Lord death nodded understandingly before turning his face towards Stein. "You can go now Stein, I think it would be better if I spoke to these two alone. Why don't you go keep Kid company for a while, I'm sure he's going through a lot right now."

"Of course," Stein turned and smiled at Arden. "I'll be back for you two in a bit, and don't worry," he reached out and ruffled her hair gently. "Everything will be alright."

Arden nodded and smiled at the strange doctor as he meandered casually out of the Death Room. After Stein had left, Arden turned her attention back on Lord Death. With Stein's absence, the feeling of calm abandoned Arden, and she felt the threads of anxiety pulling at her. The reassurance she had felt the day before, that the meeting with Lord Death was only a simple summons, a possible pardon, or even the hint that she would finally be welcomed back to the Academy, suddenly seemed like empty words she'd spoken only to comfort her partner and not herself. Suddenly, she felt like a trapped and frightened animal, locked in the hypnotic gaze of deadly viper.

"So Lord Death," Strike's easy and relaxed tone brought Arden out of her sudden fear, as she became aware of the protective stance he had taken. The normally relaxed and easy posture he maintained was still there. However, the muscles in his arms and neck gave the impression that he was ready to move at any sign of a threat, and the smile he wore on his face did not quite reach his eyes. They were hard and appeared almost animalistic as he gazed at the Reaper before them. "You called us here to talk. Well, let's talk."

"Yah, yah." Lord Death's tone had become serious and had lost some of its friendliness. "Let's talk."

After leaving the Death Room, Dr. Stein began his search for Kid. Apparently the young Grim Reaper had abandoned his post, possibly out of frustration after the confrontation with Arden, leaving Sid and his weapon partner Naigus to prevent anyone from interrupting the meeting inside. Stein spoke quickly with Sid, in hushed tones, assuring the zombie-man that things looked promising and to inquire about the possibility of where Kid had run off to.

"I think he was headed to the main court yard." Sid said slowly, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "To meet up with rest of the kids, I spotted Black Star heading that way earlier, and Tsubaki wasn't too far behind him."

Stein nodded and thanked Sid for his help, before he made his way to the main court yard. However when he got there, he found it completely deserted and with a deep sigh, resigned himself to the task of locating Kid and the others, and set off to search the kids' usual hangouts.

"So then," Lord Death had turned his gaze completely on Arden. "I'm guessing you probably know what happened here a few months ago."

Arden nodded, her eyes fixed on the floor in front of her, unable to meet the Reaper's gaze. "I heard what had happened here from the witch Sasha."

"I see, so your friend Sasha is keeping out of trouble then," Lord Deaths said thoughtfully and Arden nodded. "It's rare to meet a witch who chooses to fight for the side of good, but then, you already know that, having destroyed plenty of witches yourself."

Again, she nodded, and after waiting to see if he would say anything else, she decided to continue telling him what Sasha had relayed to her a few months previous.

"Sasha came to see us shortly after it happened," Arden explained. "She said that she hadn't been too far from the Academy; her home is just on the other side of the valley, when suddenly she felt something," she paused, recalling the exact words Sasha had used. "'Like having cold water doused over your head, and having it seep into your very soul.'"

Lord death nodded understandingly and Strike added. "Although we were farther away, we felt it too, well, I did." He glanced over his shoulder at Arden. "I don't know if you could feel it, as sick as you were."

Arden shook her head. "I couldn't sense anything," she finally looked up at Lord Death. "I don't suppose you know why I couldn't-?"

"Why you couldn't feel the Kishin's return?" Lord Death supplied the question that had been nagging at Arden since she'd learned about the events that had transpired at the DWMA and Arden nodded. "I'm sorry Arden, I don't have the answer to that, but perhaps you should ask Dr. Stein later. I'm sure he'll know the answer."

Arden bit her lip, dejectedly but continued with her story, pushing the question to the back of her mind.

"Sasha told us about the Kishin's revival; how she later heard that a group of witches had infiltrated the Academy and managed to use something called 'Black Blood' to revive the Kishin, despite the best attempts of several DWMA students, Dr. Stein and his weapon partner Spirit, and you yourself Lord Death."

She bit her lip harder, and felt blood welling up and leaking into her mouth. "After the Kishin's escape, you summoned all able bodied Meister's to help you defeat the Kishin, and stop his madness from spreading."

"Yes, I did." Lord Death cocked his head to the side. "You were among those summoned; however, you were one of the few who refused the summons, but now you've returned, and I'm kind of curious as to why you didn't come when we needed you."

It didn't take long for Stein to find Kid and the others. The odd groups of rag-tag teenagers were having a small picnic in the garden with Marie, and seemed to be having a loud and raucous conversation that was broken up by laughter from all. Only when the little group spotted Stein approaching did a hush fall over the group, as Kid stood up and murmured something to the group, before attempting to walk away, and past Stein. He was stopped however, by Stein's strong grip on his arm, as Kid was dragged back to the group, and dropped in front of them.

"You're not going anywhere Kid, sorry." Stein's normally easy going tone was suddenly forceful.

"I want to speak to my father." Kid snapped. "If he's forgiven that traitor –"

"That's enough!" Stein barked, silencing Kid and earning a look of nervousness from his students and Marie. "Arden is not a traitor."

"She killed a professor!" Kid shouted, angrily. "Everyone saw her do it! How is she not a traitor!?"

"She what?" gasped Miss Marie, as the girls beside her had similar shocked reactions.

"Now hold on Marie," Stein sighed. "You don't know the whole story, and neither does Kid." He added, turning to glare at the younger Grim Reaper. "What happened three years ago was…well, complicated."

"Uh, professor," a younger boy in the group, with shockingly white hair and a razor sharp smile, had raised his hand. "I don't mean to be un-cool or anything, but uh, I'm pretty sure that a student killing a teacher at the DWMA is about as complicated as complicated gets."

"Yeah," added the small silver-blonde haired girl who sat beside him. "And if she had killed a professor, how come we've never heard about it?"

"Simple, like the Kishin, my father chose to bury something that could make the DWMA look bad, and made it impossible for anyone to talk about what had happened." Kid said coldly.

"Now Kid, that's not fair. Like I said, you don't know what actually happened. It's not like you were attending classes at the academy then."

"So what're you trying to say Professor Stein? That Arden didn't actually murder her own professor, in front of hundreds of students?" Kid exclaimed.

"That's not what I'm saying at all," replied the creepy doctor with a small smile. "Of course, after what he did, I wouldn't have minded dissecting him myself."

"Uh, Stein?" Miss Marie's quiet voice made both Kid and Stein look over at her. "Instead of being so round about, why don't you tell us what happened to Arden, and this professor?"

Stein took a deep breath and looked at the group. "Alright, well, I guess what you need to know first is that Arden is like Maka here," he pointed to the little fair-haired girl sitting to Marie's left. "She has the ability to become a weapon if she's in mortal danger. Her father was half Meister, half weapon and her mother was the same type of weapon. Apparently they passed on that gene to Arden who, when faced with a threat and unable to defend herself, has the ability to summon from within her, her own weapon. Unfortunately, this unique ability attracted a lot of unwanted attention to Arden.

At the time, there was another scientist here who was obsessed with the strength of the human soul and body, and what separates a human soul, from a Kishin. His ultimate goal was to see if a human soul could mutate a Kishin soul into something even more powerful. His research was of course, forbidden, and he began doing experiments in secret. He even went so far as to use his own students as test subjects."

Miss Marie and the girls around him gasped and the boys all looked at him with horror and fear.

"Then a few weeks before Arden left the Academy, her best friend Lyiera was found in a sewer drain just outside Death City. Her heart had been ripped out, by what looked like a wild animal and her face had been cut to ribbons. Lord Death himself asked me to perform the autopsy on the poor girl because they couldn't identify her without an expert." Stein shook his head. "I've dissected my share of corpses, but doing the autopsy for that poor girl was by far the hardest thing I've had to do."

He cleared his throat and continued. "A few days later, I'd managed to identify the girl without question, even though most of the students and faculty had by then, expected the worst. And I'd gotten to know Arden by then. She knew, long before I'd given the definitive results that the dead girl was her best friend Lyiera, and she'd refused to leave my office until I'd finished my results. Looking back I suspect she had other reasons for not leaving, but I guess I'll never really know. Anyway, the day after Lyiera's funeral, Arden challenged one of her professors to a fight in front of the entire DWMA."

"But, I thought students weren't allowed to challenge professors to combat." Maka said, confused.

"Now they're not," Kid explained. "After what Arden did, my father changed the rules, forbidding students from challenging faculty unless given his express permission."

"Exactly." Stein said as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, before continuing. "At the time, there was a professor here, named Ashcroft and apparently he'd become fascinated with Arden and her unique ability. He was also a powerful Meister, and his partner was incredibly strong, and would have become a death scythe, if Ashcroft hadn't turned him into a Kishin."

"What?!" exclaimed the group in front of him.

"Yes, Ashcroft was obsessed with creating an ultimate weapon, and would experiment on anything he could to attempt to create such a thing." Stein's eyes narrowed. "Including, his own weapon, and even his students, even, Arden. I'll never forget the day she challenged him…"

_Arden Nightengale stood, her hands clenched around the body of the scythe that was her partner. She shook faintly, whether from nerves or fear she couldn't say._

_In front of her, stood Alexios Ashcroft, his long brown bangs hid one side of his thin rimmed glasses, which reflected the bright white shine of the sunlight, and hid his eyes completely. A gust of wind rippled his light black trench coat, so that it fluttered behind him like black angel wings, and he smiled, an almost, evil smile that felt forced, like a mask._

_"Arden, what a pleasant surprise, and Strike, whatever are you doing in your scythe form? Do you two need me to referee a fight for you?" his voice was pleasant, but it seemed to hide something sinister behind it, and a faint hint of malice seemed to trickle out as he had finished speaking._

_"Professor Ashcroft," Arden's voice carried around the courtyard, making students and the several teachers that were around turn to stare at them. "I, Arden Nightengale, demand you confess to the murder of Lyiera Davos, or face me in a duel."_

_Ashcroft's smile vanished suddenly and he stood motionless for a moment, watching Arden._

_"What's a matter professor!?" She demanded. "Are you afraid to face me? I know it was you. Lyiera told me she was going to your little 'remedial lesson' that night. And I know what you were doing to her, to us!"_

_Arden turned and addressed the gathering crowd around them, all wondering what the commotion was about. "Professor Ashcroft is a liar, and a lunatic! He's been using his 'remedial lessons' to trick students into being guinea pigs for his experiments! He's been testing things on us for months and I can prove it!"_

_She ripped off her shirt, earning whistles from the boys in the crowd that died almost instantly and turned to shocked cries. A thick bandage covered her breasts, but above and below it, was an ugly thick scar that ran to her midriff, and appeared reminiscent of an autopsy scar. She turned to face Ashcroft who was wearing an ugly and angry look on his face._

_"Not your best work professor, I look like road-kill. So does that face you're wearing now." She smirked._

_"Shut up!" Ashcroft snapped, rage lashing out at her as he reached forward and grabbed her. "How dare you insult me in such a manner? How dare you-"_

_Arden slapped him, knocking his glasses from his face and sending them crashing down onto the pavement where they shattered. "Don't touch me, coward."_

_Ashcroft spit at her. "Fine, I accept your challenge. And after I win, you'll be expelled from the DWMA, in fact, you'll probably be expelled either way. Let's just hope I don't kill you." He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "I'd hate to see my greatest experiment go to waste."_

_He laughed softly and pulled away. "Let me go fetch Argonaut and we'll re-convene in an hour or so?"_

_"Fine by me." Arden spat out each word and stalked off, away from the crowd, Ashcroft's gaze burning into her until she was out of sight._

_She sat retching on a stone bench beside Strike, who dutifully held her hair back as he cooed softly at her, trying to relax her. He looked up as Stein approached and nodded at him in thanks as the man handed him a small t-shirt and a bottle of water._

_"Here, it's the best I could do."_

_"Thanks Doc," Strike said as he opened the water bottle and poured a small amount into his hand, "Got any words of encouragement for us?"_

_"Sort of," Stein admitted._

_"Well?" Strike demanded, looking at Arden pointedly._

_"Don't die."_

_Strike and Arden both stared at the man, Arden panting softly. She took the water bottle from her partner and used it to clean her face and rinse out her mouth. Then she glared at the older man._

_"Any more great advice doc, you know, other than the obvious?"_

_"Plenty," said Stein leaning against a tree in front of her and Strike. "I read his soul-wavelength data while you were egging him on. You were right, it's not quite, right, it's almost look looking through warped glass, there's something else hidden behind it."_

_"Told you," Arden cried punching Strike's shoulder._

_"That's not all, I was wondering, has anyone ever actually seen his weapon partner?"_

_Both students shook their heads and Stein grimaced._

_"What?" Arden asked nervously._

_"It's nothing," Stein said, smiling suddenly. "Chances are then that his partner's too weak to really stand up to anyone and Ashcroft's soul-wavelength manipulation is probably just his personality overshadowing his partners."_

_Arden nodded gratefully. "Let's hope so. I'd hate for him to actually win this fight." Standing up, Arden pulled the t-shirt over her head and stretched her arms out in front of her. Then she turned to her partner. "Let's go, we still have a little bit of time before we have to face him."_

"I remember Arden thanking me before she and Strike wandered off to prepare for their big fight." Stein dropped the butt of the cigarette he'd finished and pulled out a second one. "It was the last time she spoke to me before she faced Ashcroft. I still remember everything that happened next. I remember, watching her walk out onto the courtyard with such a determined look in her eye. I remember thinking how large that t-shirt looked on her, how small she seemed compared to Ashcroft, how small her soul was compared to his. And I remember seeing how strongly she was resonating with Strike, how their soul resonance was almost perfect. I can remember how calm she remained, even after she looked up and saw that Lord Death himself had come to referee the fight," he paused then said, "I'll never forget that fight."

_"Let the duel, begin!"_

_Lord Death's roar echoed in the courtyard, but was drowned out by the whooshing of the wind in her ears as Arden pushed her body forward and up, into the air, coming in for a hard strike. Ashcroft dodged the slash and leapt back, still not drawing his weapon, he was content to continue dodging her swings as Arden chased him around the courtyard, cursing him under her breath. Finally, she'd had enough and slammed Strike down, so his hilt stuck in the cracked stones. Angrily she ripped off the sleeves of the t-shirt she wore and used them to quickly wrap her knuckles, before she advanced on Ashcroft._

_"Alright professor, you wanna play dirty? I'll show you the mud." Arden growled, before she lunged at Ashcroft, landing a perfect right hook on his left cheek._

_The blow sent Ashcroft staggering back, but he had no time to recover as Arden bore down on him, punching, kicking, and finally, grabbing him by the back of the neck and slamming him face first into the stone pavement. Panting she leapt back a pace, out of his reach should he attempt to retaliate and waited, panting softly as she watched the limp man lying on the stones in front of her. After a minute, she began to wonder if she'd actually beaten him, but suddenly, the man's form began shaking. At first she thought he was having a seizure and moved forward to turn him over, until she heard the steadily growing laughter that was soon echoing around the courtyard. Ashcroft pushed himself up slowly, and Arden saw blood dripping down the left side of his face, where a deep gash had opened on his temple. She watched him reach behind his jacket, and remove a hidden blade from its scabbard, and suddenly she felt sick. Around her she heard students and teachers gasp in horror and glanced up quickly to see Lord Death's eyes narrow angrily, before she turned back to Ashcroft._

_"You're a bigger monster than I thought." She growled and spat at him._

"Ashcroft had turned his own weapon partner into a Kishin. Argonaut had become corrupted, even in his weapon form, which had become jagged and glowed with a fierce aura of evil, that it was more than obvious what had been happening. Lord Death wanted to stop the fight then and there. But Arden wouldn't let him. She and Strike continued their fight with Ashcroft, until he was unable to continue fighting. She'd beat him so thoroughly that he probably would have died from blood loss and the injuries she'd inflicted alone. I remember watching her turn away, having received her victory from Lord Death."

_"It's over Ashcroft! Admit what you've done, you're beaten and broken!" Arden said loudly, Strike's blade pressed to the man's throat. "Admit to murdering my friend and tell me what you did to me!"_

_Ashcroft laughed, and choked, coughing up a small spatter of blood. "Fine, I admit to killing the little slut and feeding her soul to Argonaut. As for what I've done to you," he paused and smiled. "Why my beloved little Arden, you've become my greatest success! I've successfully managed to merge your heart with a Kishin's soul! Soon, you'll become the ultimate weapon, or the ultimate Kishin! Either way, I'll have done it! And everyone will remember me as the greatest scientist that ever lived!"_

_He began laughing, louder and louder until suddenly, his laughter was cut off by an angry scream from Arden, and the loud tearing of flesh as she used Strike to tear out the man's throat; before her knees gave out and she landed hard on the stones beneath her._

"Afterwards, she told Lord Death and myself everything Ashcroft had said to her, but I'll never forget the sight of that poor girl as she sat screaming on the pavement in the courtyard, rocking her body back and forth. The shock of what that bastard had done to her made her temporarily lose her mind, and for several days she was in total shock. Finally she seemed to snap out of it, and we were able to get her to tell us exactly what he'd said to her. I did everything I could for Arden, but all I could do was delay the infection. The Kishin's soul that he'd placed inside her was now part of her, removing it would kill her, will, kill her. She will either adapt to it, or it will eventually destroy her body and kill her. And at the rate things are going, Arden doesn't have too much time left."

"How long?" asked Kid softly.

"With the way her body's progressively rejecting the Kishin soul? I'd say she'll probably live to see her twenty first birthday, but she won't have long after that."

Arden opened her mouth to protest but Strike got there first, his anger getting the best of him, he nearly shouted at the Reaper.

"She was half dead, fighting off the disease that's practically eating away at her soul!" he growled. "And when the first wave of madness flowed over, I honestly thought I'd lost her completely! When she wasn't screaming and delirious, she was begging me to drag her corpse back to this awful place, even if the journey might kill her."

Arden hid her face now, as she tuned out the ranting of her enraged partner, wishing she'd never returned to the academy. It had been a mistake, and Strike had told her it would be from the beginning. Only when she realized that Strike had stopped screaming did she dare to look up, and found Lord Death looking at her decisively and contemplatively and she felt a wave of nervousness and began cursing herself for not paying attention to what they had been saying.

"Alright, I've made up my mind." The reaper said slowly.


	6. Blind

**Chapter 6: Blind**

* * *

Chapter 5: Blind

Arden stared over the balcony at Death City below her. The noon day sun shone brightly above her, and a faint breeze stirred the frilled skirt, sweeping it behind her gently. She seemed peaceful and oddly calm after the meeting with Lord Death. Strike, however, was anything but calm as he paced ferociously back and forth behind her, like a tiger in a cage. Finally he stopped pacing, threw his head back and let out an almighty roar not unlike the tiger he had previously resembled. Glancing over her shoulder at him Arden arched her eyebrow and caught his glare.

"You done?" she asked lazily, turning slowly to face him. "Though, I don't quite think they heard you all the way in Brazil, might wanna raise the volume there buttercup."

Strike growled at her, advancing on her slowly. "Do _not_ jerk me around right now Arden I am not in the mood. We basically were given an ultimatum and you are acting like it's nothing."

"I don't think you know what an ultimatum is babe. Lord Death gave us _options_ sweetie. We can live here, or we can live in Death City, we can attend the Academy again, finish this time, or we could help train other students, or none of the above. I don't see what you're so upset about really."

"What I'm upset about, is we're being confined here. None of those options give us the chance to leave." Strike snapped. "We're basically prisoners!"

"Arden, how do you stand all his over-dramatic conclusions?"

Stein had finally joined them, trademark cigarette in his hand he offered one to Arden who shook her head, before he took up position beside her. Leaning with his back against the railing he eyed Strike with an almost pitying look, like one would give a slow child who still couldn't understand a simple question.

Strike turned his aggression on Stein. "Hello! What's your problem?!" he snapped.

"Still haven't figured it out have you?" Stein shook his head gently. "Do you really think Lord Death's intention was to trap you two here? Especially you Strike? I figured he would have offered you the position of Death Scythe."

"He did," Strike ground out the words like they were poisonous.

"So then you're not a prisoner, you can leave whenever you want. Bye-bye." Stein smiled and waved at the irate scythe-boy.

"Like I'd ever leave Arden alone, especially with someone freaky like you around," Strike spat, advancing on Stein slowly. "You might decide to try and take advantage of her."

Finally having enough of the conversation, and with the testosterone laden atmosphere, Arden stood up straight and stretched. Yawning loudly, she cracked her knuckles, then her neck, before looking sidelong at the two men beside her.

"So ladies are you done comparing the size of your tampons or should I come back later?" she asked sweetly.

Strike backed off slowly, and Stein made a soft noise that sounded like a whip cracking, before he turned to Arden. "I'm guessing you've figured out the real reason Lord Death suggested you stay here?"

"Because we're getting close to dooms day," Arden said softly, pointing at her chest, and her heart. "My bio hazardous-biological baby clock has started ticking faster hasn't it doc?"

Stein nodded, serious again now that Arden had gotten the root of the matter. "The cells I examined last night concluded that egg is partially formed. Arden, there is a chance-"

"That I'm not gonna make it out of this one alive," Arden's face was suddenly hidden by a shadow as she stared at the ground in front of her. "I knew that already Stein."

Suddenly she looked up at him, and smiled. "But you know something? I have a feeling that maybe, you might just be the doctor to fix me."

Stein blushed faintly and turned away. "Hmmm. You two should go now and have lunch with Marie and the others. I told them to save you some. They're in the garden."

"Uh, thanks." Arden said, turning to go, while Strike followed suit.

"Oh, and Arden, I told Kid the truth about what happened. I think you two should be okay now."

Arden smiled and patted the Doctor's shoulder in thanks as she passed him and headed towards the stairs. "Thanks Stein."

Stein remained silent and Arden shook her head in silent laughter as she and Strike descended the stairs to the outer courtyard. When the two had gone, Stein reached one hand up, and wiped a single tear from his cheek, as he thought about the young woman fighting her own body to survive, and wondered if she would really make it or not.

It didn't take Arden and Strike long to locate Miss Marie and the others. The afternoon sun was blazing, but they'd managed to secure a shady niche under some large old trees Arden couldn't name. As she and Strike approached the group, Arden suddenly felt shyness overcome her, realizing she rarely associated with anyone near her own age. Unsure of herself, she decided to stay a couple of steps behind Strike, lingering in his shadow as he greeted Miss Marie and waited for the group to introduce their selves. Kid took it upon himself to make the formal introductions, standing up slowly to face the group.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Death-Strike, and behind him, is his Meister Arden Nightengale. Strike, Arden, allow me to introduce to you my team." Kid pointed to each member as he spoke their names. "My Weapon-Partners; Patti and her sister Liz, our dear friends; Maka Albarn, and her partner Soul Eater," Kid paused and smirked at Strike. "He's a scythe like you Death-Strike."

"Nice, but I bet he's not as cool as me," the two scythes said in unison.

This caused the group to laugh and Kid continued introducing his friends while Soul and Strike glared at each other, sizing one another up silently.

"So next we have Crona, and his partner Ragnarok."

A shy little Meister waved timidly at them while the demon sword that was bound to him made some obnoxious comment in way of greeting.

"Anyway," Kid continued, ignoring Ragnarok's comment. "The last member of our group is,"

"ME! BLACK*STAR!" exclaimed a small blue haired boy, leaping up from his spot and striking a pose. "YAH-HOO! I'm the greatest assassin ever born! I'm gonna turn my partner Tsubaki here," A quiet young woman beside him waved in greeting, before shaking her head at her partner. "Into a death scythe! Then I'll be the greatest assassin ever-ever!"

Arden leaned out behind Strike's shadow carefully to stare at Black*Star, before looking at Kid. Kid just shook his head, as if to say 'you get used to it eventually' and shooed her and Death-Strike into symmetrically spaced positions on the blanket on which the others were already sitting. While Strike quickly lost himself in conversation with the others, Arden remained quiet, speaking very little when a question was directed her way, while Strike eyed her curiously. Arden usually had no problem with people, and it surprised him that this small group intimidated her so much. Finally, he decided the only thing to do was get her into her comfort zone. Leaning back against the trunk of one of the trees, he crossed his legs casually and reaching over he pulled Arden into his lap. She squeaked softly in protest but after a few minutes of sitting with her back against his chest, feeling his arms resting reassuringly on either side of her, Arden finally managed to let go of her insecurities and joined in the conversations with gusto. She and Kid argued over the practicality of symmetrical weapons versus single bladed weapons like Strike; then she found herself sharing recipes she'd learned on the road with Tsubaki and Miss Marie, most of which were simple dinners that required little preparation but were useful when traveling and camping out. Next she found herself exchanging weapon techniques with Maka and Soul, while Strike threw in his occasional quip and tip. And although Crona remained shy throughout most the conversation, they did exchange a few words, and Arden found herself immediately developing an affectionate spot for the quiet young Meister. Only Black*Star avoided talking to her as the group finished their lunch and continued chatting amiably throughout the afternoon and later into the early evening. Only when the sun began to set did they realize how much of the day had escaped them.

"So, where are you two staying?" Maka asked as she and Soul stood up and stretched. "If you need a place to stay, Soul and I could put you up for the night."

"Oh dear," murmured Miss Marie as she got to her feet. "I knew I forgot something. Arden, Strike, I'm so sorry, I forgot to make arrangements for you two."

"Don't sweat it Miss Marie, you heard Maka, they can stay with us tonight." Soul said smiling.

Arden and Strike looked at each other, their internal screams matching one another as they realized what that meant; No sex. Arden bit her lip, mentally promising to make it up to Strike, and was about to open her mouth to accept the generous offer, when Stein appeared.

"As much as I'm sure they'd appreciate the offer, I bet the last thing they want to do is be around other people right now." He said, smirking a bit, making Arden's face heat up a little. "Lucky for you two, I managed to find you a place to stay. It's not too far from where Maka and Soul live, maybe they can—"

Strike smiled wickedly and leaned in so he and the doctor were face to face.

"Keys, please, now old man." He said softly holding out his hand.

Stein laughed and handed him two house keys and a slip of paper with the address written on it. Strike saluted him, grabbed Arden, tossed her over his shoulder and turned to the others.

"Well it's been fun kids, but Arden's feeling tired and I should get her into bed," Strike said as he shared a grin with the other guys. "We'll see you all tomorrow for more fun and shenanigans."

And then he was off, practically jetting away from the group at full speed as Arden shrieked at him to put her down. But he didn't; not until he had found the small house Stein had found for them. And only when he'd unlocked the door, carried her, still protesting, inside the building, and shut the door firmly behind him, did he set her down. Gently he bent his knees, until her feet could reach the floor, and she slid down off his shoulder. With a soft 'thump' her feet connected with the wooden floor and she looked up into her partners eyes. For the second time that day, she felt shivers run down her spine, and in spite of herself she giggled. Leaning up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered softly in his ear.

"We're so fucked up, but it works, doesn't it?"

"Love is blind." Was all he replied, as he pulled off his shirt and tossed it across the room.


	7. Bloodflowers

Strike awoke the next morning confused and disoriented. Quietly slipping out of bed so as not to awaken Arden, he began searching for the bathroom. As he stumbled his down the hall, still apparently sleep ridden and tired, he tried to reformat the events of the night before. Slowly bits and pieces began coming back to him; the sigh of Arden's breath when he'd kissed, the rustles of the sheets as they'd moved, her cry of his name, loud and almost-urgent. He stopped just outside a partially opened door, which appeared to be the bathroom he'd been searching for, and as he fumbled for the light more pieces came flashing back; Arden's fingers digging deep into his back as she arched against him, her cold skin against his as they slept… Strike paused and as he gazed, heavy-eyed into the mirror in front of him, he tried to recall why he thought she'd sounded urgent, and why had her skin been so cold? Arden was never cold. Suddenly, Strike had the gut wrenching feeling that something was wrong.

Splashing some cold water on his face to wake himself up a bit, he tried shrug off the feeling. He'd just spent the night exploring every inch of Arden's skin, and making love to her until she'd been unable to continue the fun, passing out cold in his arms. Strike knew that if he continued to feel "wrong", Arden would be able to read him, and everything that had occurred the night previous would be undone. He didn't want her thinking he hadn't enjoyed it, or worse, that she'd done something wrong. Desperately trying to make his face blank he shuffled out of the bathroom and back down the hall towards the bedroom. Outside the door he paused, and squinted his eyes, trying to readjust them as he entered the room.

It was comfortably dark, despite the faintest traces of sunlight trying to make their way through the heavy shades, and Strike could barely make out Arden's sleeping form as he watched her from the doorway. After a few moments, Strike began blinking rapidly, trying to focus on Arden. Was it his imagination or was she not breathing, not moving at all, for that matter? His hand automatically flew to the wall searching for a light switch, and finding one, he flicked it up; nothing. He'd forgotten they'd knocked over the only lamp in the room the night before, causing the light bulb to give out.

Cursing silently, Strike moved forward, reaching for the bed, and as he got nearer, he froze. The sleeping form he'd thought was Arden was in fact, not moving, it was still, perfectly still, and its eyes, blank and glass-like stared at and through him, to a fixed on a point on the wall behind him. He cried out and backed away, and felt his spine connect to the wall behind him. Bracing his hands against the wall, he yelled as one of them touched something sticky and wet. Turning his head, he jumped away from the wall as he stared in utter horror at the sight of a message, smeared in blood on the wall; _"She is mine"._

Strike barely made it to the sink before he began heaving, and everything he'd eaten the day before came up violently. When he could no longer bring anything up but watery bile, he spat into the sink, and as he did, he noticed the smeared blood on his hand from where it had touched the message on the wall. Panicked, he grabbed a wash towel and began scrubbing at the blood, desperate to get it off of himself. After some time, he could no longer spot any trace of the blood and he stared at his reflection in the mirror, trying to think of what to do. He needed help, but who could he go to? He frantically wracked his brain before the answer hit him like a thunder bolt, and he raced out of the bathroom, down the hall and back into the bedroom. Trying desperately not to retch again as his gaze fell on the dead body, its eyes still fixed on the words on the wall; Strike raced to the other side of the bed and grabbed his clothes from the day before. He raced back out of the room then, and stopped just outside the door to yank on his shirt and pull on his pants. Not pausing to find shoes, Strike stumbled and ran his way down the hall and out the front door, attracting stares as he ran full blast down the street, searching for the road that led to Stein's Lab.

It took a while, but Strike soon managed to find Stein's place, but by that time he was limping slightly from various cuts and bruises that now covered his feet. He cursed at himself for not bothering to find his shoes, but he hadn't really wanted to look around in case he stumbled on another corpse. His skin rippled unpleasantly at the idea and made his way up the steps to Stein's front door and began pounding on it with his fist heavily.

"Stein, Stein! Open up you mad bastard!" Strike shouted, frantically as his fist slammed repeatedly against the heavy wooden door.

Desperately, he tried the handle, but the door was locked. He swore and punched the door angrily. Quickly he tried to think where Stein might be, before he remembered that it was a school day, and Stein was probably still at the academy. Deciding to head to there, Strike whirled around, and came face to face the mad doctor himself.

"Strike, what a pleasant surprise," Stein said slowly, his tone suggesting otherwise as he glanced down at Strike's feet. "Did you know you're not wearing shoes?"

Strikes grit his teeth, ignoring the Doctor's attempt to get under his skin. Noticing Death-Strike's lack of a response that was, less than polite, Stein gazed at the young man, and caught the look in Strike's eyes. Fear and desperation, mixed with a kind of gut-wrenching horror, and an almost pleading hopelessness danced through his eyes and began reflecting on the boy's face as Strike looked back at Stein. Strike was silently trying to communicate his need for the older man's help without words, and after a moment Stein understood.

"What is it? What's wrong?" the mad man asked, to Strike's obvious relief. "Is everything alright?"

Strike shook his head.

"It's Arden, she-she's-" and suddenly Strike found himself spilling his guts, literally, for the second time that morning, as he turned and heaved over the railing that lined the stairs to Stein's lab.

Stein held the young man's arm, supporting him gently as Strike continued to empty his stomach of what little remained in it. After several moments of simply gagging and retching, but with nothing else coming up, Stein helped to lower Strike into a sitting position on the stairs. Strike sat there for a moment panting softly and stared blearily at Stein. After a minute, he slowly began retelling the events that had occurred the night before, leaving out the juicier bits and skipping to what had taken place that morning, doing his best to recall of every detail of it as best he could. Stein remained silent throughout, but watched the young man closely until he had finished his tale. Only then did the older man turn, unlock his door, and walk quickly inside; he returned a few minutes later with a glass of water and two small tablets.

"Drink this," Stein ordered, pressing the glass into Strike's hand and handing him the tablets. "And swallow these."

Strike looked at the tablets distrustfully, and then peered at Stein suspiciously. "What are they?"

Stein sighed. "It won't kill you. It's to help your body work the drug out of your system."

"I'M NOT ON ANY DRUGS!"

"Not those kinds of drugs," The doctor shook his head. "It sounds like you were given some kind of sedative, which explains the vomiting and why you're having a hard time remembering things clearly."

Again, Strike stared at him, before mumbling, "Oh," and dutifully swallowing down the tablets.

They waited a few minutes before Stein reached down and helped Strike back up onto his feet. Strike winced as the cuts in his feet throbbed and Stein shook his head.

"Honestly, how did you manage to forget shoes?"

Strike ignored the question and asked one of his own, "Where are we going?"

"We're going to get you to Nygus and Marie; hopefully they can keep an eye on you while I go tell Lord Death what's happened."

Strike opened his mouth to argue but Stein silenced him.

"You need to rest; you can't go tearing off after Arden in this state. Once you're feeling better, we'll organize a plan to get her back. I know the others will want to help you too."

Strike sighed and nodded, and with a little bit of help from Stein, the two of them made their way slowly, towards the Academy.

When Arden came to, she found herself locked in a small dark room. Chains bound her arms above her head and were wrapped around her feet like heavy metal serpents. Despite the urge to scream, she kept her lips tightly shut, as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Pieces of what had happened to her were scattered about her mind like shattered crystal. Desperately she scanned the dark room, trying to make out anything in the pitch blackness. Only when her eyes had adjusted did she wish they hadn't, and muffled scream crept up from her throat as she stared in horror at the room around her. Dolls and broken mannequins lay all around the room, each one bearing a terrifying resemblance to Arden herself. All of them had broken limbs, and shattered faces; the only head that seemed to be intact sat at Arden's feet, smiling creepily up at her. Horrified, Arden slammed her foot out, pulling at one of the chains, and punted the head across the room where she heard it shatter.

"Now, now," a soft voice whispered from the darkness. "You shouldn't go breaking other people's toys. Especially when someone went through all the trouble of making them look just, like, you."

Arden's eyes widened even further as she whispered, "Oh God, no."

Suddenly a light flared up, as a match was struck and its glow illuminated the one who'd spoken. Slowly they moved into view, drawing closer to Arden until they were right in front of her, dropping the match and watching it fizzle out at their feet. Another match was struck and the figure kneeled slowly, and reached out a cold thin hand to cup Arden's cheek. Arden flinched and tried to squirm away, squishing herself as tightly against the wall at her back as she could. The figure laughed.

"What's wrong Arden, afraid to face an old school mate?"

"You're not real!" Arden cried, desperately, closing her eyes so tightly they hurt. "You're dead! We buried you!"

Tears began to escape from beneath her closed eyelids as she continued to squirm away.

"Dead?" the figure whispered. "No Arden, not dead, reborn. After the good Doctor Ashcroft's little experiments, and that mad man Stein's pulling what was left of me apart and then putting me back together, I was eventually reborn, and now I've come rejoin the world of the living."

Arden opened her eyes again, and the tears streamed freely down her face as she whispered, "Oh God, Lyiera."


End file.
